Nutritional geometry of female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Primate foraging is influenced by the spatial and temporal distribution of foods, which may facilitate or constrain optimal nutrient intakes. Chimpanzees are frugivorous primates that mainly subsist on ripe fruit that is typically low in available protein (AP) and high in easily digestible carbohydrates. Because chimpanzees prefer ripe fruit and often eat it in large quantities compared with other foods, we hypothesized that protein intake would be tightly regulated while non-protein energy (NPE) would vary with fruit intake. To test this hypothesis, we conducted all-day follows on female chimpanzees, recorded all types of food consumed (i.e., drupes, figs, and non-fruit foods), estimated the nutritional contributions of these foods to daily NPE and AP intake and investigated how the ratio of NPE to AP varied due to changes in the types of foods consumed. Although the proportions of drupes, figs, and non-fruit foods varied in their diets, female chimpanzees maintained a relatively stable intake of AP while intake of NPE varied depending on the daily diet, demonstrating that like other frugivorous primates studied to date, chimpanzees prioritize protein. The mean daily ratio of NPE to AP was 7:1, which is similar to that of other frugivorous primates studied. Our results support the hypothesis that frugivorous animals may generally prioritize AP, while maximizing NPE intake within that constraint, and could shed light on aspects of human dietary evolution.

INFLUENCE OF FRUIT AVAILABILITY ON MACRONUTRIENT AND ENERGY INTAKE BY FEMALE CHIMPANZEES.

Daily energy intake of adult female mammals is influenced by environmental conditions and physiological requirements, including reproduction. We examined the effects of fruit availability on macronutrient and metabolisable energy intake by adult female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda from January 2014 through June 2015. Drupe fruits were abundant for four months, whereas the other fourteen months were dominated by fig fruits. The mean daily intake of food (dry matter) and metabolisable energy, did not differ between drupe-months and fig-months. However, foraging costs were higher during fig-months, as indicated by a 20% increase in feeding time. Furthermore, during drupe-months female chimpanzees ingested more water-soluble carbohydrates and lipids, and less available protein and neutral detergent fibre. Although metabolisable energy intake did not differ consistently between drupe-months and fig-months, they consumed more on days when ripe fruit dominated the diet than when leaves and pithy stems dominated the diet. Our data suggest that differences in diet quality between drupes and figs can have important effects on frugivore foraging, and that they influence net energy gain more by their effects on macronutrient composition or foraging cost than by their direct impact on energy intake.